Keep prices under control for sake of people: PM Hasina in Business Summit 2023

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while inaugurating Bangladesh Business Summit-2023 on Saturday (11 March), cautioned the country's business leaders that they would lose markets unless they can keep the commodity prices at a normal level and end the sufferings of common people.

"Considering the sufferings of the common people, the business leaders will have to find out ways to bring the prices of essential commodities to normal level. You will have to take steps accordingly. Otherwise, you will lose your own markets," she said.

The Bangladesh Business Summit-2023 is being held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Commerce Ministry and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) organised the three-day summit.

Hasina said the common people are suffering due to high prices of essential commodities and inflationary pressure.

Developing countries like Bangladesh, she said, are facing severe problems. Even the developed countries are facing trouble due to the commodity price-hike and high inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, economic sanctions and counter-sanctions that struck the global economy just after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The prime minister assured the businesses that her government would extend all sorts of cooperation to overcome challenges. "I am giving you words," she said.

PM urges global business leaders to invest in Bangladesh:

Focusing on the potential of Bangladesh in trade and business and facilities for investment, the prime minister urged global business leaders and entrepreneurs to make investments in Bangladesh in a bid to help it in its journey of transforming into a developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041.

"In the month of our independence, I call upon the global business leaders and investors to join us in our journey towards attaining a high-income developed and prosperous country by 2041 and build an innovation-driven Smart Bangladesh," she said.

She said Bangladesh is marching towards economic prosperity braving all odds. "We have to redouble our efforts to speed up the current pace. There is no scope to fail and there is no reason to fail. After all, we are a victorious nation," she added.

Highlighting Awami League government's success on implementation of several mega projects including Padma Bride and metro rail, Sheikh Hasina said building on the success, Bangladesh now aspires to be an Upper Middle-Income Country by 2031 and a Developed Country by 2041 as outlined in her government's Vision 2041.

To achieve the Vision, the government framed the Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021−2041 and the Eighth Five-Year Plan (2021−2025) and started the implementation of the plans, she said.

The PM said these plans present a strategic roadmap to increase private investment and FDI, the productivity capacity, accelerate inclusive growth, and build an innovation-driven Smart Bangladesh.

"If Bangladesh continues to grow at an average rate of over 5% per year, it can become a trillion-dollar economy by 2040," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has made private investments, including Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), a prime strategy to attain a high growth rate in line with vision 2041.

"We aim to increase the ratio of private investment to GDP to 31.43% by 2031. Bangladesh now has a $350 billion infrastructure opportunity in the energy, water, logistics, and transport sectors. The logistics sector is projected to become a market of $90 billion by 2025," she said.

She said Bangladesh, with a 170 million population, is a big domestic market now.

"We hope it would be possible that Bangladesh would be the 9th largest consumer market by 2030 overtaking established markets such as the UK and Germany and surpassing high-growth peers - Vietnam and Thailand," she added.

The premier said the growing middle and affluent classes which will be 34 million by 2025, are expected to have income significantly higher than $5,880 per capita GDP estimated by 2040. For its strategic geographical location, Bangladesh can also be a hub of a regional market of 300 billion people, she added.

She said Bangladesh is a land of business opportunities. Our country is currently experiencing a demographic dividend with 68.4% of the population in the working age category, she added.

Ministers from seven countries including the United Kingdom (UK), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), China, Bhutan and the United Arab Emirates, and CEOs of 12 multinational companies and more than 200 foreign investors and business leaders from 17 countries of the world are participating in the summit.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, PM's Private Industry and Investment Affairs Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, Saudi Arabia Minister of Commerce Dr Majid bin Abdullah Al-kassabi, Bhutanese Minister of Commerce and Employment Karma Dorjia and Deputy Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO) Xiangchen Zhang spoke at the opening function, while FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin delivered the welcome speech.

The summit has been arranged as a part of the FBCCI's 50th founding anniversary celebrations with the aim of creating new opportunities for trade and investment by showcasing the country's economic potential before a global audience.

The summit will showcase dynamic business investment opportunities and improvements to the local business climate while also giving insights into the investment priorities of global investors to improve policy-making.